Neat. I had a go of it, worked alright.

And just because I was so uninterested in writing my paper, I took the time to cover it in tape to give it a bit more weight (and deadliness)

Autofac

50 cents??? I could only get about 10 for mine back in the day :D

parjoe

Heh, I used to be able to sell these for 50 cents each, because I was the only one who knew how to make them.

It was easy to make money back then. D:

HarrisonHopkins

Now can you show us pirates how to fold a paper sword?

eeefresh

I did this for day of the ninja just made a bunch of these up for throwing stars

Ninehand

1) Not origami, technically. Origami has only folds and no rips, these stars use half-sheets of paper ;)

2) I still love these, they're very useful.

3) pennies are a good trick. Also, if you use 4 thin strips instead of 2 thick strips you get two stars out of one sheet of paper. This makes them a bit more light-weight, but the creasing is much easier. It also means you can get finer tips that will scratch if you need them to. (danger danger danger)

theo

@Cidinho: I suppose I should have clarified that we made these (as well as played make-shift air hockey on the unit heater) during indoor recess on days with inclement (rain/snow/extreme cold/etc) weather.

Thinking of states... Just the other day I impressed my seventh grader by correctly filling in all fifty of our wonderful United States on a blank map. ;-)

Equis

@cidinho: funny thing is, most people can actually learn several different types of things in the span of N years that they go to elementary school.

Heck, I was always a nerd with straight As in "fancy" learn-a-lot-more-than-usual schools and I managed to make my share of throwable, jumping, flying and/or hovering paper contraptions in class.

@grungydan: hehe got one of those "hoverships" on my desk right now... except it's my own improved model :D
(you make 'em out of a long strip of paper left over from making a square out of a sheet of paper for other origami stuff)

yanamal

Add pennies in the fold of each tip and tape closed to help with weighting.

fryck

Hehe I used to make these in Grade 5... we called them 'Ninja' stars and throw them at each other :)

dravidian

Sorry, but at my school we were busy studying unimportant things like Geography and History and not origami. Well, at least we could tell all our states and the history of our and other important countries by the time you were making paper air planes.

Anyway, I found it very nice, as I've never been interested on doing those things, for I have never known how to.

Cidinho

I used to know how to make these really cool "hoverships". They looked awesome, and when you blew on the table behind them they'd scoot along looking even more awesome. :)

Now I can't even remember how to fold a paper football. :(

Grungydan

Agreed. We used to make these and other paper toys in elementary school way back in the day.

One of my party tricks is to cut a five-pointed star in one snip. It's also fairly easy to do with paper napkins when you're out... [www.ushistory.org]

Equis

I'm pretty sure every 4th grade boy already instinctively knows how to make these. At least, I used to make them all the time. Lately, I've taken to making them in meetings that drag on too long, and throwing at the end.

Another helpful tip if you want to be really cool (in 4th grade)... draw lightning bolts on each segment.

zinereem

/me sits back and waits for the internet nanny squad to come on and tell us how dangerous this is.

Grungydan

@SouldrinK: That's because dollar bills already have the right shape. Square pieces of paper have to be cut in two so it's not really origami. :-)

Greet

I love making them out of dollar bills. They just seem so much cooler when you use money, and since you obviously don't cut them, it qualifies for origami! :P

SouldrinK

Day of the Ninja was Wednesday.

Fortunately, I already knew how to make these. Went great with my costume!

Browzilla

Hm, I'm a little bit dissapointed. This isn't a lifehack, and if you post things that aren't lifehacks, at least make them interesting. :-) I know how to fold a 3D-flower (and some other things) out of a napkin and I know how to make a box out of six origami sheets, and I'm sure other people know how to fold a few simple things too (a hat or a boat for example), so a simple four-point star is not very impressive.

Greet

Folding paper into animals, flowers, etc. .. = Origami
Cuts needed to make the finished product = Kirigami

glorious